The present invention relates to a process and apparatus for breaking up a foam into its liquid and gaseous components under the action of centrifugal forces.
Advantageously, for production of centrifugal forces a centrifugal device with a gas outlet is used.
This type of process and apparatus for breaking up a foam is known and described in the Swiss Pat. No. 615 100. This known mechanical process of foam separation breaks the foam up into its liquid and gaseous components by action of centrifugal force.
The apparatus comprises a centrifugal fan device including two parallel disks between which radial or tangentially arranged baffle plates of different shapes are attached. The spacing between both disks is larger than their diameter. The centrifugal fan device is driven by an electric motor. An opening is provided in the upper disk concentric to the drive axis as a gas outlet.
The foam enters the centrifugal fan device at the periphery of the device for the foam destruction. The heavier liquid component of the foam is flung back by centrifugal force, while the lighter, gaseous component is released from the device through the gas outlet.
The foam separation has the disadvantage that it is inefficient in the case of comparatively large amounts of foam and stable foams. Because of that, there is a comparatively higher energy consumption and the danger exists that the foam also will issue from the gas outlet.